Trowel and Error

[Mountain Goat]

Shocking oink. :lol:

They're beautiful, Cos! I particularly like the bottom two.

[Mountain Goat]

These are the best of mine this evening (one of my favourite ones was all flowers that were either past their best or not yet properly opened, which was thoughtless of it, so I used the one with a bee asleep in it instead ). You can see how I need the orange one to finally open as the colours are a bit one note at the moment.

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[Cosmopolitan]

Absolute stunners. Dahlias are the best so dramatic

[Mountain Goat]

Aren't they? In exciting news, the orange one is just starting to open its first flower, I keep going out to check on it. And every time I do, there is still a bee either feeding or fast asleep in the other one as in the photo above. That dahlia has just been a bee dormitory the whole summer, they just latch on and live in one. :lol:

[Mountain Goat]

Who else has bought more bulbs than they are likely to have the strength and patience to actually plant? :lol:

I'll have loads of gaps when the annuals (and dahlias) come up so there is definitely space for them all but my back is sore at the thought of it. :))

[absley]

I've failed to order any yet, as it's mostly tulips that D wants, which I know are November planters. Plus the ground is still so hard and dry. I've recently been tempted by some cream crocus, so may look a bit sooner than I'd planned.

What are people doing in the garden atm? I'm beginning to clear veg beds - my courgettes are nearly done, I have a few more potato plants to dig up, and I'm still getting loads of tomatillos. I'm also thrilled that my netted cavolo nero is doing well but that's obviously staying put. I then need to work out what the plan is next year - I think my small bed (courgettes this year) is going to become a home for the rhubarb that is being smothered by raspberry canes, as D has decide raspberries are his favourites, so I don't want to reduce their space as I'd previously planned. Other beds will get green manure seeds for winter, once I've transplanted the foxglove babies that have popped up.

I need to empty then rebuild my compost bins as the wood is rotting. What should I prioritise for the lovely compost in there? I don't really know how to decide - tactical placing with certain plants (roses? not sure what else) or really go for it for a particular bed?

I desperately need to do more hands on stuff like weeding and dividing clumps, but haven't the inclination atm.

[Mountain Goat]

I think clump dividing can wait till spring (maybe some plants can't? I don't know, the ones I need to do can wait at least :)) ) so I'd not rush yourself, I'm holding off as the main candidates will still be flowering in autumn so I'd rather leave them be for now.

I've been clearing veg beds too. I think my courgettes are nearly done too, there are still loads of babies but most of them seem to be rotting off before they get anywhere now. I've cleared the last of my borlottis (and had a few with dinner last night), leaving an almost free bed (still there: the cucumbers as they seem to be striding manfully forward still, and a stray self seeded tomato plant that had been utterly ignored as I didn't know it was there but is covered in (green) tomatoes). I need to shove some compost on that bed now and I will put in some early garlic and some shallots, both of which SHOULD be done in time for putting in whatever is going in there for the summer. Next year I'll move my peas and beans to the big bed in a half hearted, only vaguely understood crop rotation attempt. :)) (I should actually read about this properly). I don't yet know what I'll do with the gaps in the big bed when the courgettes come out. Winter salads?

I am jealous of your netted cavolo nero, the cabbage whites somehow got into mine and I am pulled off caterpillar encrusted leaves daily. They're a mess now but I am hoping that the caterpillars will be gone soon and as these look like big healthy plants that they will hopefully then start to provide something for me too.

I am working through my tomatoes and peppers (all at ripening stage), hoping to clear the greenhouse before long so I can put the shelves back in and use it for autum sown seeds. I sowed some scabious black cat at the weekend as that has been gorgeous this year but last year I struggled to germinate it (in the spring) and only got three plants. Hoping for more so I can have multiple clumps of it through the front/side garden.

BTW it might just be a marketing tactic but I've seen a lot of stuff about buy tulips early as they sell out. I know that a few things I wanted have sold out now (at least where I was looking, may well be available elsewhere) so if there's a specific tulip you have your eye on it might be worth watching out.

[absley]

I've seen that too Goat, but I don't have specific stuff in mind so am not worrying about it. Your scabious black cat looks very lovely - I had such poor results from my spring seed sowing, but I will try again and attempt to be more diligent with my watering and planting out, plus hope for fewer slugs.

Do winter salads get affected by pests? I always assume they'll just get munched if it's cool and damp. :fc: for your cav - I want to try the tall kale, to try and reduce pigeon munching (I'm assuming they're too lazy to hover and too fat to stand on the leaves).

Rotating where the nitrogen fixing peas and beans grow seems v sensible. And I like moving potatoes, so I know if I have bonuses from this year's leftovers! :))

[Mountain Goat]

It's nicer than I expected - big fat flowers that make an impact (well, bigger and fatter than I thought) - and a couple of people have asked me what it is. I think I'll need to do fewer seeds this spring I hope, as my perennials get bigger and there's not as many gaps, but....definitely lots of cosmos, they've been great for being easy going, long/late summer flowering and strong colour (at least the purity and the dazzler) and can shove in any unexpected gap. :)) And the fancy sunflowers I have along the wall next to the street have been really cheerful and long lasting, and small children stop and point at them. I am bored of zinnias, cornflowers need too much deadheading. Sweet peas for sure stay.

I bet they do! If I do it, it will be an experiment. :)) I don't even know that I really want winter salads, I just can't think what else could be sown there at this point. I will probably do it half heartedly, forget, and mulch instead.

Nice mental image of a clumsy fat pigeon trying to balance on a kale leaf.

Yes, I have diligently left the roots in (the sweet peas too, although I won't move them as that's where they belong visually). Good point about potatoes although I doubt anything escaped my fervent rootling. I didn't think my potatoes tasted very special but I really enjoyed the rootling aspect. :lol:

[absley]

My pink fir apples in the first year were so delicious, this year much more hit and miss. I sourced them from different places, so wonder if that makes a difference.

[Derek Nimmo]

My Virginia creeper is having its annual diva moment!

It point blank refuses to grow across the archway, and insists on looking like a soldier in a ghillie suit but it's worth it for about a week and a half per year :))

[absley]

That's fabulous, Del. I've noticed a few in our neighbourhood and they're so beautifully vibrant.

[Mountain Goat]

Gorgeous Del! Despite it's stubbornness. :)) My liquid amber keeps hinting at changing colour but just the outer edges of lower leaves that you can't see from most angles. Come on! This is your one job.

[Mountain Goat]

How is everyone doing? Have the frosts got you yet? Still powering on here, although today's winds have finished off the last of the cosmos, I suspect (except the front/side garden ones which for some reason flowered late and are peaking now). I had an unexpected day off on Friday when the weather was lovely and had a glorious day pottering around tidying up, cleaning the greenhouse etc etc. And I got some bulbs* in, although lots of them can't go in until the current incumbents have finished. I assume we'll get a heavy frost at some point in the next few weeks that will sort that, for now the dahlias are thriving and I'm not going to cut them off in their prime. I've potted on my biennial seedlings (honesty, foxgloves) and got them out in the greenhouse now, hardy annuals are still on the windowsill.

Couple of photos I took yesterday or Friday, before the rain and wind clobbered the back garden. I need to take some of the front/side bit as that's at its best now I think.

* daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, Dutch iris, alliums

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[Derek Nimmo]

It still looks so colourfuI

Can't imagine any imminent frosts down here, the grass needs cutting regularly and I've even still got roses!

[Mountain Goat]

Same! The roses are the best they've been ( they were only planted this year so were just tiny plants by midsummer and now they're a proper size).

[absley]

We've had our first frost but it was only light so had minimal impact. I think most things have run out of steam though, so its looking quite bare apart from autumnal leaves and a few asters. None of my dahlias appeared this year, nor my gaura, so those are things to think about next year.

I've still failed to order any tulips but have picked up some small bulbs locally and am using the wetness as my excuse for not having planted them out... I have moved and divided my rhubarb though, as the nearby raspberries had swamped the plants. I now need to replant a few raspberries and generally tidy them up and stake ready for next year. I also have a few pots that need to get planted out.

D is constantly sweeping leaves - a lesson mindfulness, if nothing else :))

[Mountain Goat]

Poor D!

Well, you don't want to be compacting the earth, it's valid. :)) I've still only done a tiny fraction of my bulbs, I've seen several people who know much more than me saying it's still far too mild, but then Adam Frost was putting his in temporary pots to get started as he hadn't had time to get them in the ground and the clock was ticking, so my takeaway is to do whatever's most convenient. :)) Waiting for the sales seems to be as good a call as any. I'm waiting for frosts.

I pulled what I thought was a massive Herb Robert yesterday only to be slightly surprised at how easily it came out which set my spidey senses tingling and then realised it might actually be a geranium I planted last year that hadn't flowered. :lol: I'm still not sure so I've divided it and put some in pots to observe. After looking at photos to try to work it out I'm not sure I love it even if it was supposed to be there so I'm not too annoyed.

Did you leave your dahlias in? I did half and half, some I left in and some I took out. There was no clear pattern, I lost one dahlia (maybe more) in the earth and two others are a bit weedy this year, but another is enormous and thriving. They're all coming out this year as they need moving around anyway and as I want to get alliums in those spaces for early summer interest (and then lift the alliums when the potted dahlias are ready to go in). God knows where I'll store them all. My gaura is new this year, does it need special winter protection?

I did a lot of tidying on Sunday mainly because it was such a lovely sunny day and I wanted to stay out in it. I had a few chats with passers by, the scabious black cat is getting a lot of love so I hope I can get more to germinate for next year, I only managed to get three plants out of a whole packet this time round. I'm leaving the seed heads but they are refusing to dry.

Oh and I got my shallots and garlic in, more to keep the raised beds busy than anything. The caterpillars are still thriving among the brassicas. :lol:

[Demelza]

I also did some general tidying on Sunday as it was such a lovely day - weeded the flower beds in the front garden and the path, which took ages (and it’s the sort of thing that you have to finish once you start it). I slept very well last night!

I also harvested a pot of mini carrots and planted some more bulbs. I think they’re all daffodils this year - last year I planted some random ones and these amazing flowers came up a few weeks ago. Not sure what they are but they are very pretty (and close up at night or if it’s raining)

[Mountain Goat]

That's beautiful Demelza! Some sort of iris??

Ouch, I weeded the drive a few weeks ago, it's the worst job. While I was doing it, a small boy asked his mum what I was doing, she explained and he said " Oh like Nana?" :lol:. On their way back round he exclaimed "
She's STILL there!" Yes thanks, I'm elderly and stuck doing a job that takes forever. :))